


hello my old heart

by aurora_chiroptera



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Asexual Raphael Santiago, Biromantic Raphael Santiago, Bisexual Isabelle Lightwood, Bisexual Maia Roberts, Daylighter Raphael Santiago, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff, Lesbian Clary Fray, M/M, Meliorn uses they/them pronouns, Multi, Nonbinary Meliorn (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Open Relationships, Other, POV Raphael Santiago, Pansexual Meliorn (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Pansexual Simon Lewis, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Raphael Santiago Has Feelings, Raphael Santiago is still a vampire (because I said so), Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurora_chiroptera/pseuds/aurora_chiroptera
Summary: Scenes of a family Raphael had found he accidentally stumbled into.AKA Six times members of the polycule came to Raphael’s home (and he didn’t even mind).
Relationships: Clary Fray & Raphael Santiago, Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood/Maia Roberts, Isabelle Lightwood & Raphael Santiago, Isabelle Lightwood/Meliorn, Simon Lewis/Maia Roberts, Simon Lewis/Meliorn/Raphael Santiago, it's polycule time, pre-Maia Roberts/Raphael Santiago
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	hello my old heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tothetrashwhereibelong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothetrashwhereibelong/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A clear path](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21674239) by [tothetrashwhereibelong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothetrashwhereibelong/pseuds/tothetrashwhereibelong). 



> tothetrashwhereibelong thank you for bringing me on this adventure where I now think of this polycule daily. I hope you enjoy! 10/10 do recommend reading their polycule stories!
> 
> Thank you also to everyone who has joined in loving the polycule and chatted with me about it!

(one)  
The Dumort was quiet in the late afternoon. With the sun setting earlier and earlier as winter came on, it meant most of the clan was already out for the night or preparing to spend a night in. Raphael was firmly settled in for the evening, sprawling on the couch as he watched Simon work on setting up the TV.

“-and that’s why we have to watch the extended editions,” Simon was saying, but Raphael was more focused on Meliorn’s gentle fingers running through his hair as he leaned against their chest.

“That is a compelling case,” Meliorn offered. “Does Maia share this opinion? It seems she is equally knowledgeable on such subjects.”

“What opinion?” Maia asked, strolling into the room as if she owned it. Raphael ducked his head to hide a smile. The pack leader in the Dumort, here to watch movies because she was dating Simon and Simon was dating Raphael and Meliorn. The world certainly was full of surprises.

“Of course, she does, she’s not a fool!” Simon hopped up, kissing Maia’s cheek. “Oooh, you brought snacks!”

“You said we are marathoning all three Lord of the Rings movies, of course, I brought snacks,” Maia said, smiling at Simon before making her way over to the couch. “Wait, we are watching the extended editions, right?”

“See!!” Simon gestures to Maia dramatically. “She gets it.”

Raphael felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out while rolling his eyes at Maia and Simon. It was a message their group chat. Simon had renamed today so the notification said “1 new message in ‘one polycule to rule them all’”. Raphael still sometimes wondered when this had become his new normal.

Clary: [selfie of herself making a peace sign, Izzy making a face in the background] She’s lucky she’s cute.

“Maia, your girlfriends are fighting,” he complained.

“I don’t control them.” Maia tossed a package of popcorn at Simon, who caught it easily.

“Why don’t we invite Isabelle and Clarissa to join us?” Meliorn asked, their hands moving to Raphael’s shoulders as they must have felt him grow tense at the suggestion.

Yes, this might be the new normal, but there were still some things Raphael was getting used to. “I guess there are too many snacks, considering Simon and I won’t be eating them,” Raphael muttered.

“I brought stuff for you, don’t worry,” Maia said, flopping on the couch so Raphael had to move his legs. She pulled out her phone and Raphael watched the texts come through on his own.

Maia: we’re watching the gays climb the mountain movie  
Clary: lotr or brokeback?  
Maia: lotr [gif of Frodo and Sam]  
Clary: WE WILL BE THERE RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY  
Izzy: RIP our dinner reservations I guess

“You kids and your technology,” Raphael grumbled making sure Simon could hear. 

Simon’s laughter followed him as he returned with the popcorn and then settled on the couch as well. Raphael put his feet in Simon’s lap as Simon held the popcorn out for Meliorn to take. While everyone was distracted passing the popcorn around, Raphael looked as Clary sent another message.

Clary: wait extended editions right?  
Raphael: Yes, Simon and Maia ensured it. And Simon calls me old when he still has DVDs.  
Clary: omg I bet they have maps @Simon Lewis  
Simon: of course they do, but they aren’t as good as the ones you drew back in high school  
Izzy: legally you have to show me these. legally you have to show me all of clary’s nerdy art  
Clary: NO  
Simon: i’m not sure you want that, she went through a weeb phase  
Izzy: this word means nothing to me  
Raphael: Hurry up or we will start the movie without you.  
Meliorn: [message only containing 25 different leaf and flower emojis]

Raphael turned his head to briefly hide a smile against Meliorn’s neck. Yes, this was the new normal, and Raphael didn’t want it to change. But he was going to complain about it a lot.

(two)  
When Simon had asked if he could practice his music in the Dumort because his neighbors in his apartment complex had complained, Raphael hadn’t expected that Simon would be doing this practicing in Raphael’s space. Raphael could ask Simon to go practice somewhere else, but… he found Simon’s acoustic guitar and soft singing oddly soothing.

His rooms could feel too big and empty. While he had done a lot of work to make the Dumort feel more like a home, it sometimes felt like that warmth didn’t come through into his own space. Having Simon casually spend time, just existing in each other’s presence, was… nice.

Raphael was working in his kitchen, preparing the food he would bring to the senior housing Rosa had been in. He had found out several of the other residents missed the food Rosa would share when Raphael brought it to her. This tended to be particularly lonely work, even if Raphael felt it was a way to carry on Rosa’s memory and give back.

But today, he had company. In the living room, Simon was playing cords to different beats, trying to come up with a new song, as far as Raphael could tell. He had several notebooks spread out around him, a pen behind one ear and pencil in his mouth.

“I like that one,” Raphael offered, looking up at Simon.

“Wha-” Simon started and the pencil fell on the floor.

Raphael chuckled but hummed the tune Simon had been going over tapping one finger on the counter to keep the beat. “That. I think it has worked best.”

Simon smiled, then played it over again. “Yeah, yeah you’re right. You have a good ear.”

Raphael shrugged, and finished packing up the food. He would deliver it early in the evening. Washing his hand, he walked into the living room and settled on the couch farthest away from Simon and the sprawl of his work.

Simon hadn’t returned his attention to his work however. In fact, he was studying Raphael. “Can you sing? Are you holding out on me?”

Raphael huffed. “I can sing fine, but I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself.” Seeing that Simon seemed a bit hurt by that last part he amended, “Not that preforming is bad, it’s just not something I want to do.”

“Good save,” Simon said, ideally playing a few cords. “Maybe you’ll sing for me sometime?”

“Maybe,” Raphael said, picking up the book he had left on the couch. Settling in to read, silence (besides Simon’s playing) fell back over them, and Raphael found himself relaxing. It was nice to have someone else there to share that with.

He wouldn’t admit that to Simon in a hundred years. But maybe after that.

(three)  
Meliorn pressed a kiss to Raphael’s hair. It was wonderful to “wake up” to, and Raphael allowed himself a moment to snuggle closer. Neither Raphael nor Meliorn really needed to sleep, in the way mortals did, but Raphael found he rested better with them nearby. They would gently run their fingers through Raphael’s hair and allow him to do the same. Around Meliorn, it felt safe to be a little bit softer, and a little bit sillier. Raphael couldn’t remember a time he felt such ease around a partner. But he had never been with anyone quite like Meliorn before.

The lazy evening was interrupted by a knock. It seemed to be coming from the door of the apartment, which was odd because most of the clan had taken to just wandering in once they understood Raphael’s open-door policy. Pushing himself up, Raphael snagged a robe and went to answer the door.

Maia’s smiling face greeted him. “Hey!”

Raphael blinked at her, trying to recall if they were supposed to have a meeting or anything. He didn’t think he would have forgotten. He stepped aside, “Do you want to come in?”

Maia nodded and passed by him. “Oh, hello Meliorn!”

“Good evening,” Meliorn said, wandering towards Raphael’s kitchen. “Do you want some tea?”

“Sure,” Maia said, and looked around the room.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Raphael asked, not wanting to sound rude but also very confused by the visit.

“I was kind of hoping to find Simon here,” Maia admitted, looking a little sheepish. “I hadn’t heard from him in a couple days and we were had sort of plans to get drinks tonight.”

“Isn’t one of those conventions Simon and Clarissa like so much going on?” Meliorn asked, leaning on the kitchen counter now that they had set the kettle to boil. It made Raphael smile at how at home they were in his space.

“If he’s that distracted, he might not have noticed his phone died,” Raphael nodded, wandering back into the bedroom to grab his own. “Have you asked your girlfriend?”

“Yes, Clary’s got a booth at the con,” Maia called after. “I know she is busy and I was at the con, so I should have seen him!”

“Unless he was doing something embarrassing,” Raphael said, coming back into the room with his phone in hand. There were no messages from Simon, though a few messages in the group chat (current name: ‘we stan clary’s art’).

Maia: @Simon Lewis where are you?  
Clary: no simon spotted here!  
Izzy: also no simon but i’m at work so idk why he’d be here

Raphael moved and sat next to where Maia had settled on the couch. He tapped Simon’s contact to call him, flicking it to speakerphone. Simon picked up just before Raphael was sent to voice mail. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Before you ‘ok boomer’ me for calling instead of texting-“

“That’s not really how it works-“

“Your girlfriend is looking for you.”

“Oh shit! Did I forget a date?”

Raphael raised his brows as he looked over to Maia. Meliorn walked over with two mugs of tea, handing one to Maia before they settled on her other side. Maia hid her smile as she sipped her tea. Raphael used his best scolding tone, “You don’t know if you forgot a date?”

Simon spluttered a moment. Raphael spotted both Meliorn and Maia trying not to laugh. “Is she there?” Simon asked.

“Hi Simon,” Maia said, laughter clear in her voice.

“Raphael, you had me on speakerphone and didn’t tell me? Uncool,” Simon was huffy now, causing Maia to laugh harder. “Hello, Maia.”

“Salutations,” Meliorn said, then loudly sipped their tea.

“Hi Meliorn,” Simon said. “Anyone else there I should know about?”

“No,” Raphael said, leaning back into the couch. He rested an arm along the back and didn’t pull away when Maia settled closer to him. “Now, where are you?”

“I got caught up working on a song and then my sister showed up for a surprise visit,” Simon explained, and Raphael could hear the smile in his tone. “We’re just catching up right now.”

“Why don’t you bring her over and I can make dinner,” Raphael said. He wanted to meet Simon’s sister, knew how much she meant to Simon. It was something Raphael understood well, and he wanted to make a good impression on Simon’s sister.

“That wouldn’t be imposing?” Simon asked.

“Not really, and Maia is already here,” Raphael pointed out, pretending that he didn’t suddenly feel a bit nervous. He wanted this to go well, and maybe it was too short notice. Then he remembered probably the thing he should be concerned about. “Does your sister know-“

But they could hear Simon asking Rebecca, “Hey you want to go have dinner with my partners?” They couldn’t hear what Rebecca said back. “Yeah all of them.” Simon chuckled and then said, once more addressing the phone, “We’ll head your way. What should we pick up?”

Raphael snatched up the phone and went into the kitchen. “Let me see if there is anything I’m missing. Otherwise, some red wine is always nice.”

(four)  
Raphael could not explain why Clary was in the lobby of the Dumort. She was the most distant to him in the relationships they had found themselves part of, and while they got along fine, Raphael certainly didn’t expect house visits.

Looking at her awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, Raphael could only guess what the little trouble maker had been up to. “What’s wrong?” 

Clary jumped, turning to look at him. “Nothing! Nothing is wrong.”

Raphael crossed his arms, raising one eyebrow. “Why don’t I believe you?”

Clary rolled her eyes, but a smile was growing on her face. “I’m not that bad.”

“That’s not what your girlfriends tell me,” Raphael said, turning and gesturing for her to follow. He heard her comply, and they move to the elevator to go up to Raphael’s rooms. The clan was much more comfortable with seeing Meliorn or Maia around the Dumort, much less so with either of the shadowhunters. Raphael understood and respected that.

This meant contained Clary to his personal space, which wasn’t something he really wanted to do when he didn’t know what was going on. It was clean and he had been preparing things for Meliorn to spend the night. The elevator ride was quiet and awkward, but Raphael had no reason to push Clary to speak.

Walking into his rooms, he headed for the kitchen. “Please, take a seat. Do you need anything?”

Clary shook her head, so Raphael just brought her a glass of water. She sipped it and then put it down, her hands fiddling and her heart beating faster than normal. Raphael really wasn’t sure what to do with this.

Clary took a deep breath and quickly started explaining, “So there is something that I want to try doing and I am not sure how it will work or if I’ll like it but there is an event at the Pandemonium stage in a month and I think I can pull something together if I start now and you are the only one I know, besides Magnus and wouldn’t that be awkward-“ She stops when Raphael raises his hand.

“The New Comers’ drag show at the Pandemonium?” Raphael asked.

“Yes,” Clary nodded, flush on her cheeks.

“You want to perform?” Raphael said, leaning back against his couch. So, nothing to do with demons or weird angel magic or any of the usual chaos that seemed to follow Clary around.

“Yes, and I want to ask for your help with the outfits,” Clary said. “You’re always dressed so nicely, and I would love to have a suit and vest for the number I am thinking about.”

Raphael found himself rather flattered, and not just because of the complement to his fashion sense. Clary apparently found him trustworthy enough to come to him about something she was still figuring out herself. “I can certainly help. There is a tailor, a warlock, I go to-“ he saw some fear come back to Clary’s face. “But we can start small.”

Raphael stood, motioning once more for Clary to follow. He led her to his closet, stepping back as she began to look through it. “These won’t fit you, but you might be able to get an idea of what you would like.”

Clary grinned over her shoulder and started digging around. Raphael left her to it, closing his bedroom door to give her privacy to try things on. When Meliorn came, Raphael explained merely that Clary was there and working on a project. They just shrugged with a smile and settled in to watch a movie with Raphael as had been planned. Clary left eventually with a wave and a thank you and see you later.

“Looking forward to it,” Raphael said, and was met with a blinding smile from Clary before she headed out into the evening.

(five)  
Raphael opened the door to a very apologetic looking Izzy with a very drunk Simon and rather drunk Meliorn in tow. He raised an eyebrow, stepping to the side so she could herd two through. Simon wandered to face plant onto the couch and Meliorn lay on top of him.

“Why are they my responsibility now?” Raphael asked, even as he found Simon and Meliorn’s antics rather adorable.

“Sorry, I didn’t know what else to do with them,” Izzy sighed, shaking her head. “Meliorn butt-dialed me, so I found out where they were and that Simon was there too. I was worried and went to get them and here we are!”

Raphael could tell Izzy was stressed and the awkwardness of their own relationship wasn’t helping. Izzy had dated Simon once as well, but their breakup had been on much better terms. Raphael often wished he didn’t know Izzy as well as he did, for many different and conflicting reasons. But they cared about the same people and about making a difference especially now that she was Head of the New York Institute.

He just nodded to her. “I can take care of them, make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”

“Hopefully now they’ll just sleep anyway,” Izzy said, looking at them. Somehow the two of them had managed to move without falling off the couch so that Simon cuddling Meliorn close. “Thanks. I have to go on patrol, Clary already is, and Maia is dealing with some personnel issues at Tiki’s.”

“Of course,” Raphael said and he managed a smile. “We’re family.”

Izzy smiled back, tentative. “Yeah, we are.” Her phone started ringing, and she looked down at it with a frown.

“Duty calls?” Raphael asked, heading towards the kitchen so he could get water for Meliorn and fresh blood for Simon.

“When is it not?” Izzy said, turning towards the door. “Let me know if you need me!”

“Go hunt your shadows,” Raphael said, taking out his few plastic cups, not wanting to risk glass. “I got this handled.”

Izzy gave him a final nod, answering her phone and leaving, shutting the door softly behind her. Raphael stared at that door for a long moment, then turned his attention back to his partners, snoozing drunkenly on the couch.

Time to try and get some liquid into them both, or they were really going to regret it in the morning.

(six)  
Raphael had invited Maia over because sometimes he needed someone with a similar no-nonsense way of thinking. It started out as an official meeting between clan and pack leaders, but once the official business had wrapped up, they both lingered.

Raphael asked, remembering something Simon had mentioned, “How is the school year going?”

Maia leaned forward, resting her elbows on her legs, eyes sparkling with excitement. “It’s amazing so far! I can’t believe a found a program I can work on my master’s part-time.”

“It must be hard to balance with your pack duties and the restaurant,” Raphael said, and he didn’t bother to keep how impressed he was out of his tone.

Maia laughed, “Yeah, but who else is going to do it?”

Raphael could only nod in agreement. He hadn’t yet decided on who to train to be his replacement, should the clan one day need that, nor had anyone come forward. “Everything has been calmer as of late.”

“Is it because four of the five representatives on the council have some kind of, at least second hand, relationship between them?” Maia tossed out, before laughing once more. “Poor Dot.”

“She’s fine,” Raphael assured, thinking about the teasing he had gotten from both Dot and Catarina the last time he had gone over for dinner with them and Madzie. “I can assure you that she and her girlfriend are entirely amused by any antics.”

“What antics? We are always very professional,” Maia faked offense, her curls bouncing with her laughter.

Raphael hummed, “And that note you slipped to Isabelle during the last session?”

“An important matter I needed the Head of the Institute to review right away,” Maia said firmly, only to wink. “As long as we aren’t being biased in any of our decisions, I think only good can come from having stronger connections. And I know Dot would call us out.”

“She would at that,” Raphael agreed. He felt a bit calmer though, talking out what had been worrying his mind a bit. Between him and Meliorn dating, and Meliorn and Izzy, and Izzy and Maia, it could become an issue. But Dot would have no qualms smacking any of them (verbally) upside the head.

Maia was watching him now, warm eyes growing serious. “Call me a bit of a sap, but I think love and family can only make things better. And this?” She gestured to the Dumort at large. “Is your family. My pack is my family. But you and I? We are connecting all that.”

Raphael smiled at her. “I think you’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” Maia said, humor returned. She stood and stretched. “I’m meeting Clary and Simon for dinner; you should come along.”

Once, that really would be the last thing Raphael would want to do. But once, he wouldn’t have been having this conversation with Maia at all. He stood as well, “Where to?”


End file.
